Party Conference season is here once more. Most people will never attend one, but I know many constituents have, whether they are a member of a political party themselves or involved with a business, charity or other organisation that needs to interface with policy makers to bring the changes they want to see.

They are a strange week- somewhere between a commercial expo and freshers’ fayre, with key note speeches, policy debate and a lot of hand shaking and photo taking thrown in, but they really do matter. A strong conference shows the world your party at its best and makes the public more engaged in your vision for the future. A messy conference can have the opposite affect.

The headline from Conservative Party Conference down the road in Manchester has of course been the scrapping of the Manchester leg of HS2 after the Tories themselves let the costs of the line spiral. This is a bizarre decision, and a deep betrayal of the North. It’s all pretty rude to visit our city region only to announce the cancellation of the flagship project to secure its economic future. Getting this far and jacking the project in is like going over budget with your new kitchen so just deciding to live without a cooker or fridge forever, leaving gaping holes where they should have been. It makes no sense.

As I write this, Sunak is expected to confirm the new trains will indeed run from Birmingham to Manchester, but on the existing tracks. The whole point of HS2 was to increase capacity on an over-crowded line fraught with delays. Adding additional trains onto the old line misses the point entirely. It’s also like buying a Ferrari then only driving it round a dirt track.

The Government won’t share the HS2 maths with the public, but, in addition to the general incompetence which has come to characterise their rule, there’s suspicions part of the rising costs were down to unnecessary tunnels and bridges to protect the aesthetic of Southern farms and villages.

As Manchester Council Leader Bev Craig said, “The Government’s own analysis showed an integrated HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail would add £9 billion to Greater Manchester’s economy each year, add £24 billion a year to the North’s economy, create 96,000 jobs, improve capacity and connectivity, and close the productivity gap with London.”

Even even the Conservative Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street (a former John Lewis businessman) furious at the short-sightedness of it all. Kyboshing HS2 at this stage is the ultimate exercise in shooting ourselves in the foot.